Read the latest news about research conducted by investigators in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Our faculty and students are continually advancing technology, creating solutions and expanding knowledge with new and innovative research.
Grant to help Penn State build semiconductor workforce in Pennsylvania
08/14/2024
08/14/2024
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded $600,000 to Penn State’s Silicon Carbide Innovation Alliance (SCIA) to develop a series of educational courses, workshops, and paid academic and industrial internships focused on workforce development in Pennsylvania for the growing semiconductor industry.
Penn State, Shell announce collaboration focused on energy and sustainability
08/12/2024
08/12/2024
Penn State and Shell USA Inc. have announced the launch of a collaboration. An initial commitment from Shell of more than $1 million will fund initiatives focused on energy transition, decarbonization, polymer recycling and biodiversity, and the creation of an inclusive and innovative energy workforce.
Researchers, staff work with Pittsburgh municipalities to predict geohazards
08/09/2024
08/09/2024
Penn State students, Carnegie Mellon students, Penn State faculty and staff from the Franco Harris Pittsburgh Center at Penn State are collaborating to use existing fiber optic cables to predict dangerous potential geohazards like flooding, landslides and sinkholes in Pittsburgh.
Giant fossil seeds from Borneo record ancient plant migration
08/07/2024
08/07/2024
Ancient fossil beans about the size of modern limes, and among the largest seeds in the fossil record, may provide new insight into the evolution of today’s diverse Southeast Asian and Australian rainforests, according to Penn State researchers who identified the plants.
$1.1M ARPA-E award to fund project exploring potential of geologic hydrogen
07/23/2024
07/23/2024
Penn State to receive $1.1 million from DOE- ARPA-e to support early-stage research and development to advance low-cost, low-emissions production of geologic hydrogen.
New NSF-funded center established to lead geologic CO2 storage innovation
07/23/2024
07/23/2024
NSF funding to establish a center for CO2 Storage Modeling, Analytics, and Risk Reduction Technologies, whch will be dedicated to innovation in geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide as a technology to enable industrial decarbonization at scale.
Message in a bottle: Combining mixed-color glass an option to boost recycling
07/22/2024
07/22/2024
Penn State scientists recently found that mass-produced soda-lime silicate glass from post-consumer bottles of different colors can be safely melted together in the recycling process, which could potentially lead to more bottles being recycled.
Emerging research areas refocus Institute of Energy and the Environment themes
07/11/2024
07/11/2024
The Institute of Energy and the Environment has announced an update to its research themes. The change is to better align three of the research themes with the energy and environmental research being done at Penn State, and with efforts to recognize the importance of community and justice.
Making rechargeable batteries more sustainable with fully recyclable components
07/08/2024
07/08/2024
Enrique Gomez and his research team reconfigured the design of solid-state lithium batteries so that all their components can be easily recycled.
Mitigating barriers for children walking and biking to school
07/03/2024
07/03/2024
Despite the demonstrated physical and mental health benefits of active transportation to children, many economically disadvantaged communities do not implement it. New research shows why and proposed solutions to mitigate such barriers.